


Running With The Big Dogs

by ladyofdecember



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Bonding, Commission fic, Communication, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Mentions of Don Fitzcarraldo, Pining, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 08:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17463728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofdecember/pseuds/ladyofdecember
Summary: 21 is worried about how The Monarch is handling news of his father's death and he's determined to get him to talk about it.





	Running With The Big Dogs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MorphoFan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorphoFan/gifts).



> This was a commission piece I did! If you'd like to commission me for a fic let me know! Tumblr handle is also ladyofdecember! Or you can check out my ko-fi page - ladyofdecember. <3
> 
> Had a little help from witterprompts on Tumblr with using some of their prompts from there. Go check them out! They're awesome and they have tons of prompts!

It had been just a few weeks since Malcom had witnessed his father's death for the second time. To all other's eyes, he was handling it quite well. To 21's, well, let's just say he knew better.

Stepping into the kitchen, 21 glanced around the room, his eyes searching for the man who had been captivating his thoughts a lot as of late. Dressed simply in his purple bathrobe, brilliant red hair shining under the dome of the kitchen light above, The Monarch was sat at the end of their kitchen table with his head bent down immersed in a newspaper. 

The man hesitated slightly, unsure of if he should approach him at all. Perhaps, it'd be better to just go back upstairs and hide in his room rather than incur the man's signature irritability. Weighing his options in his head back and forth, he finally decided to push forward and try to get to the bottom of what the man was feeling.

"You feel like coffee?" 21 asked as he headed over to the coffee pot, warily eyeing The Monarch's slumped over position at their table.

"Mmrfm." Came the muffled reply.

21 glanced back at the man, thinking about how that was a less than cheerful response and not the one he was hoping for. It was both noncommittal and yet a better acknowledgment than stony silence. He set about adding coffee grounds to the brew basket and then the water and hit start. He would enjoy a cup at the very least, even if the other man didn't want one. He was far too tired this morning. He needed it.

Coming to sit down across from the man, he found himself shifting around nervously, trying to think of something comforting to say.

The Monarch cocked an eyebrow at his restlessness but said nothing, instead focusing entirely on his newspaper in front of him.

Pulling at the brown fabric of his own cloak he wore, he shrugged a bit and tried to coax some sort of conversation out of the man.

"You uh... you wanna talk about it?" 21 mumbled quietly as he eyed him.

Shrugging with a sort of indifference, The Monarch let his eyes roam over the newspaper page in hand without really taking any of it in with any interest. He sighed moodily. "Talk about what? The fact that my father, who I already thought was long dead, actually wasn't? Or maybe about how I am now partially responsible and caused his death? Doesn't really seem much point."

"Well, you're upset and it's good to get these things out in the open! It might make you feel better."

Slamming the paper down on the table with a crumpling noise, he glared across the table at the man with a fiery intensity behind his eyes. "I'm not five, 21! I don't need to 'cry on your shoulder' or 'talk about my feelings'! I'm a supervillain! And last I checked, you were too!"

He headed over to the coffeemaker then and upon hearing the three short beeps indicating it was done brewing, began to pour himself and the henchman two cups of coffee. The black mugs each carried the familiar yellow Monarch emblems on them which made the henchman smile a bit. Sliding back down into his seat, The Monarch slid the other man's over to him before staring down into his own tensely.

"Are you sure you're okay?" 21 asked warily. "Because you sure seem... not... okay."

"Am I sure? No, but I'll tell you what I told everyone else; It's fine."

"Besides," He continued, sipping a bit from his mug and trying not to burn himself on the hot liquid. "It doesn't change anything anyway."

A few moments of silence passed between them with each man just enjoying their hot beverage. The sound of the empty mansion that had once been drafty and eerie was now comforting in a way. It was like it was truly their home now, no matter how quiet it got, there was still this sense that it was a comfortable one.

The ticking of the clock on the nearby wall got 21's attention and he eyed the time curiously, seeing that it was only about 8:30am.

The Monarch or Malcom as he had now come to be known had momentarily gone back to reading through the newspaper in front of him. The tenseness in his shoulders had seemed to recede a bit and his pinched brow was less pronounced now.

Turning the mug in his hands slowly, 21 let out a little sigh before glancing up at him again, still worried for his well being. "Still... you seemed pretty shocked. It was... it was like a lot dude, seeing that!" He'd never really been close with his own father or numerous step-fathers really but if he had, seeing something like the man being crushed to death in front of him would definitely mess him up.

Malcom scoffed and lowered his newspaper once again to peer at him. "How would you know?! Weren't you like still outside stuck hanging on the edge of the building?"

"You ran ahead!! Also, it didn't seem to matter whether or not I was by your side. You seemed so sure of yourself rushing in there anyway." Crossing his arms over his chest, 21 gave him a leveled look. “But it's cool. No, I mean, what am I? Just your sidekick is all.”

Monarch leaned back in his chair, mimicking the man's posture and also crossing his arms over his chest. He affected a very pleased look on his face, jumping on the chance to tease his best friend. "Typical. You hang back and let me take care of all the dangerous work! Guess that's what sidekicks are for after all!”

When 21 just glared and remained silent, he continued on, still pursuing the thrill of antagonizing the man. The Monarch grinned, leaning forward over the table. “Then again, I guess you needed a bit of a vacation, right? After I made you get your hands dirty with all that henchman work!”

21 scoffed and stood up in indignation. Strolling around the table closer to him, he pointed an accusatory finger towards him. “I didn't need a vacation! God, you're never gonna let that go, are you? And please! I've been the one doing all the dirty work! Not you! You kept sending me out to kill all of Venture's enemies while you go off and do whatever!”

Monarch laughed and shrugged. “Maybe it's because I know when it comes to the big leagues, you can't swing with the big dogs like me! You're still just Gary, hanging back from the front lines, too scared to get his hands too dirty.”

21 stared down at the man, a bit of anger bubbling beneath the surface. “Oh really? That's what you think?”

“Yep.”

“You think you're like this untouchable, big dog?” He took in the easy smile The Monarch had splayed across his face and the way he seemed way too pleased with himself right now.

“Uh... yeah, that's what I said!” The man chuckled.

The henchman took a moment to let it all soak in, nodding to himself and glancing around the kitchen area. After a moment, it seemed he might not respond at all and the redhead considered going back to his paper. After all, what fun was it to poke someone who wouldn't fight you back? That was just... sad really.

It was then when The Monarch was distracted that 21 suddenly lurched forward closer to him and began an intense bout of tickling him. "You-You think you're so tough! You're this... this... this macho villain-guy!!" Pinpointing with accuracy the exact points on the man's body to reach out to, the precise points that he'd noted previously the man always seemed to protect due to their sensitivity, 21 refused to let up his tirade of tickles. He'd always been really great with figuring out someone's weakness and with The Monarch, that weakness had been his extreme susceptibility to ticklishness. 

Nearly losing his mind and overcome with laughter, Malcom was struggling to keep the tears in his eyes from spilling over as he scrambled underneath his henchman's unforgiving hands. He tried to duck out from under him but the man was not letting up whatsoever.

Malcom began to cry out in between his fits of laughter from it all. "No! Stop! I command you to stop! Your leader... commands you!!" He gasped for breath in between shrieks of laughter.

The man fell off his chair and down to the white, linoleum floor in raucous fits of laughter as 21 continued to mercilessly tickle him beneath his arms, across his chest and anywhere else he could reach that he knew would be effective. He was however, caught off guard by the man reaching up suddenly and gripping his robe hard enough to pull him down on top of him. He'd never really had great balance after all.

21 was now lying on top of the man but still determined to keep up the tickling fight in order to teach the man a lesson. He was so damn full of himself after all. He needed to be brought down a few pegs.

Eyeing the man above him with a slight smirk, Malcom wasted no time at all incapacitating his henchman as he grabbed his face, pulling him in close for a kiss.

21 was surprised to say the least. He froze up entirely, his body going rigid as he lay half crouched and half lying on top of the man who was now kissing him. He was pressing their lips together, his lips against his own! 

What was even happening?!

His mind racing, thinking a million things like how warm it had suddenly become and the fact that he was close enough to the man to smell his aftershave and the light scent of his Handy Dandy jelly he used. The Monarch wasn't letting up, was steadily kissing him still even though it felt like they'd been in this position forever!

Taking a breath in through his nose and relaxing after a moment, 21 began to lean into it a bit, closing his eyes, only to find that that was the exact moment the other man chose to end it.

Pulling back a bit, The Monarch grinned gleefully up at him as he straightened up to a standing position leaving 21 still crouched on the ground. "I win! Man... you suck at this!"

The air was like static between them, at least that was how it felt to the henchman as he sat on the floor still in complete shock. 

Going back to his coffee where it sat undisturbed on the table, the redheaded man sat back down and began rummaging through the paper once more as if nothing spectacular or different had happened at all.

"Wha? You-We... " 21 sputtered from his place on the kitchen floor before standing up and pointing an accusatory finger. "You kissed me!" 

The Monarch laughed, giving him a bit of a shrug. "Yeah! And you gave up the battle! So I win!"

"Yeah, well, I guess so... " He mumbled, taking his seat at the table once more as well.

Blinking incredulously at the brazenness of the villain, 21 shook his head to clear the fogginess from his mind. Had it been... just a game? 

Coffee in hand, the two sat in silence once more though the stoniness from before had faded completely, leaving a calm and pleasant demeanor in the air. Heart thudding in his chest still, if he had a mirror to see his face, 21 was almost certain that he was flushed red from the interaction.

21 stared at the newspaper currently covering any glimpse of the man before him and wondered just how far the man would be willing to go for a game. He blinked down at his coffee and took a drink, as the thoughts roamed through his head.

At least he wasn't upset anymore.


End file.
